There are very few
hack-and-slash action games that showcase more than just the ability to tear
through enemies and then there are those that are simply content with just doing
the same thing over and over again until the end credits roll. Sadly, Viking:
Battle for Asgard is the second one and while it has its good moments those
moments are fleeting and hardly worth entrance to Valhalla.
The story revolves around
Hel, daughter of the Norse God Loki, as she targets Midgard (the human world)
with her minions from the Underworld. During one particular bloody skirmish, a
noble warrior named Skarin is killed during battle and resurrected by Freya,
daughter of Odin and a Goddess that protects Midgard. Freya offers Skarin a
chance to be the “Champion of Midgard” and so the warrior sets out to fight
against Hel and her army. With the guidance of a Goddess and a Viking’s
bloodlust, Skarin takes on hordes of enemies at once in a huge open world.
Yes, you read correctly,
the game contains a somewhat vast open world that you can explore at your
leisure. The world map is actually big enough that you’ll be glad that there are
portals that allow you to magically travel to various locales you have visited.
The problem is that there is nothing at all to do in the open world except for
liberate very specific locales (like a farm or sacked castle) from enemy
occupation. There are side missions (locate more barrels of mead for your
comrades, for instance) but they’re simple fetch quests that get boring quickly.
What you will spend most
of the game doing is slaughtering enemies that Hel has sent to take over the
various key locations. Liberating locales is not easy, of course. First you must
defeat a number of enemies that have taken over the area and finally release any
prisoners that were locked into cages. As a lone warrior, you battle your way
through a number of enemies, using bladed weapons in each hand. You can block
attacks as well as perform a swift or long swipe from your weapon.
The good news is that
there are different levels to your Rage attacks and you can add crystals or
runes to your weapons to add lightening, fire and ice attacks. The rage attacks
allow different decapitating moves that range from brutal (take your enemy’s
head off) to extreme (take all of your enemy’s limbs off). The bad news is that
you will be performing the same few moves throughout the entire game. What
starts off as fun will quickly get old fast to the point that even Rage attacks
aren’t able to save the action from getting too repetitive. The enemy does offer
some challenges. There are enemies with heavy shields and there are champions
(such as Drakan) that fight for Hel. You’ll go up against undead forces that
will attack in groups and in one level you’ll even be pushed to the limits in a
battle that’s not as massive as it could have been.
Visually, Viking displays
some decent-looking graphics that do many things right and other things not as
well. For example, the water, main character and cut scenes look excellent. On
the other hand, there are some pop-up issues that make stalks of grass or trees
suddenly appear out of the blue. The lighting effects aren’t good either and,
despite some magical properties you bestow on your weapons, the magical visual
effects don’t light up the screen. You will be treated to gruesome decapitations
but the dead seem to disappear quickly so you won’t be staring too long at the
gore.
The game’s sound doesn’t
make an impact either thanks, in part, to the fact that the environmental noises
are nonexistent. How is it that you can hear your fellow villagers whooping it
up in your village but not hear your enemies while they’re pumping each another
up in their camp? You’ll be surrounded by the great outdoors and you won’t even
hear a single noise. The voice acting in the game is not great but not bad
either and the soundtrack fit’s the Nordic theme of the game.
Viking: Battle for Asgard
for the PlayStation 3 had all the makings of an epic action game complete with a
huge world to explore but, in the end, the game just doesn’t move past its
repetitive hack-and-slash action. The game does have its shining moments and
slicing through the hordes can be fun at first, but these things can’t overcome
the game’s uninteresting story or been-there-done-that gameplay. If bloody
action is what you crave, then this one will certainly feel right at home as a
weekend rental.
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Gameplay: 6.5
Skarin knows how to swing his bladed
weapons as well as unleash his feral Viking rage but that’s about all you can
expect from him. He has a few decapitating moves but they are only cool the
first few times you see them. The story isn’t particularly deep thanks to the
game’s short length and poor storytelling.
Graphics: 7.0
The game’s visuals range from
delightfully decent to somewhat disappointing at times. Backgrounds lack good
lighting and some character models could have used more work. Still, the game
displays some good visual effects and the cut scenes are fluid.
Sound: 6.0
The environmental noises are
non-existent so don’t expect to hear birds chirping or a breeze blowing through
the trees. In fact, sometimes you won’t even hear the clanking of steel or the
sounds of your sword slicing through Hel’s minions. At least the soundtrack is
OK.
Difficulty: Medium
Hel’s followers and undead army do
put up quite a battle and oftentimes they will overwhelm you with their numbers.
If you’re not careful they will certainly rip Skarin to pieces so make good use
of your ability to block.
Concept: 6.0
Viking possesses nothing we haven’t
seen before in games like this and while the Rage attacks can be fun to unleash
the game rarely shows us anything completely unique. You can explore your
surroundings in the open environment but there’s very little that will have you
coming back for more when you finish.
Overall: 6.5
Sadly, Viking is one of those games
that could have been great but thanks to repetitive hack-and-slash gameplay
there is really not much here even Odin would approve. All is not too bad,
however, since the action and themes are wonderfully gruesome. It’s just not
worthy of a purchase.
